Today's letters: Readers comment on puppy mills, WWII and Iron Law of Bureaucracy
Victory for Belleview
A black stain has been removed from Belleview, signaling a victory for both humans and dogs.
We were shocked to see a puppy store within city limits. Many other cities had stopped allowing stores to sell puppies since the puppies sold at stores usually come from puppy mills. A store is an ideal place to sell these puppies since the consumer will never get to see how the parents live — bred over and over, living in cages and only used as a way to make money.
The puppy-mill breeder in this case had been fined because these puppies often did not have parvo vaccinations. Bringing home a sick puppy can spread serious diseases and can kill both the puppy and any other pets in the house.
Thank you to all of the animal advocates and animal control personnel for attending city hall meetings and speaking up for the voiceless, innocent animals. Thank you to advocates for protesting, collecting data, sending letters to newspapers and raising awareness about what was happening.
It also was a battle to allow residents inside city limits to call animal control directly. In the past, we had to go through code enforcement or the police department with any animal concerns. One time when I called code enforcement about a chained dog who was thin, I was told to call back when I could see its hip bones! The animal would likely have been dead by then. Code enforcement was understaffed and not trained for these situations.
We are happy to say Belleview has become a more caring place for our canine companions. Consumers who can't find a puppy at a shelter or rescue will now know the importance of locating a breeder who will allow them to meet the parent dogs and see their conditions.
Cindy Polcyn, Belleview
Chinese were allies
Regarding a recent letter claiming commissioner Bryant insulted World War II veterans by riding in a Chinese fighter, maybe the author should learn his history. The Chinese were our allies in WWII. Maybe he confused the Chinese with the Japanese?
Ron Williams, On Top Of The World
Iron Law of Bureaucracy
We are at the point of complete chaos due to the following rule: We have been overtaken by those who will always and only work for their personal goals rather than what is right.
Scientist Jerry Pournelle suggested several "laws." His first use of the term "Pournelle's law" appears to be for the expression "one user, one CPU." He also has used "Pournelle's law" to apply to the importance of checking cable connections when diagnosing computer problems.
His best-known "law" is "Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy." In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control, and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.
Pournelle eventually restated it as: “... in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children versus union representatives who work to protect any teacher, including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.”
William Francis, Summerfield
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This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Nov. 26 letters: Readers comment on puppy mills, WWII and more
